Abstract
Energy, while an abstract concept, is well-defined in physics and science. Unfortunately the word “energy” has been stolen by psychologists and others to describe a mental state: “he/she has lots of energy”, or “I can transfer energy through my hands to you”. This sounds like energy is something mysterious and fleeting. But this is not the energy considered here. As taught in every high-school, it takes kinetic energy for something to move. This energy of movement can be acquired by release and conversion of stored-up (potential) energy. Without physical energy and energy conversions, the whole Universe would be dead and we would not exist. Since we will be discussing energy usage, exchanges, and supplies, it is necessary we first define a unit of energy. For example how many units of energy are in a liter or gallon of petrol.
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Notes
- 1.
The “second law of thermodynamics” states that the maximum mechanical energy extractable from heat is given by the Carnot fraction (T1 − T2)/T1, where T1 and T2 are the inlet and outlet turbine/engine absolute temperatures in K or R.
- 2.
The word “plastics” is used here to include organics, hydrocarbons, carbon nanotubes, fibers, and all materials or products presently derived from petrochemicals.
- 3.
A nucleus is made up of Z protons and M − Z neutrons. Each of the Z protons has unit atomic mass and unit charge. They determine the total positive charge of a nucleus; hence Z is also called the atomic charge number. The neutron mass is almost the same as the proton mass but has no electric charge. The total number of “nucleons” is the sum of protons and neutrons in a nucleus and is called the atomic mass number M. A given element has a fixed number of protons Z, but can have different “isotopes” with different numbers of neutrons and thus different mass number M. Uranium’s most abundant isotope is U-238 with M = 238 and Z = 92, i.e. 92 protons and 146 neutrons, while fissionable U-235 has 92 protons and 143 neutrons.
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Eerkens, J.W. (2010). Energy Consumption and Energy Sources on Planet Earth. In: The Nuclear Imperative. Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8667-9_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8667-9_3
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